Once Upon A Time In China
by CardCaptor Schlueter
Summary: Syaoran reflects back on his life pre-Sakura and writes his thoughts about his experiences with the Clow cards.
1. A Reflection On Things Past

_Once Upon A Time_

_                                                                                In __China___

A CardCaptor Sakura Fanfic By CardCaptor Schlueter (aka Syaoran-kun)

"CardCaptor Sakura" is a trademark of CLAMP and Kodansha Publishing.

Prologue: A Reflection On Things Past

            Once upon a time in China…

            That is how my story begins. I don't know much about writing and even less about beginning. That opener was Daidouji-san's idea. To be honest, I fail to see the point, for my story is hardly a fairy tale, although so far it has a happy ending. But, this whole project was Daidouji's idea from the beginning. Perhaps I should start from the beginning. My name is Syaoran Li, which will come as no surprise to anyone reading this. At the time I sat down to write this somewhat questionable document, I was twenty-six, just out of university and recently married. Lately, I've had to deal with a lot of the usual post-honeymoon hassles plus the added pain of shuffling back and forth between Hong Kong and Tomoeda. For those of you who think being rich is easy, I would like to protest. When you don't have money, your family can't expect you to shuffle back and forth on a whim. If you're family owns a private jet, however…

            But, I'd best get back to the point. As you're no doubt aware, mine has not been a typical life. That was what gave Tomoyo Daidouji the idea in the first place. Sakura and I had agreed to meet her and Hiiragazawa for lunch about three weeks ago. It was an outing I was somewhat reluctant to be a part of, mostly because I still trust Hiiragazawa about as far as I can throw him. (Although, I must confess the idea of seeing how far I could throw Eriol is somewhat appealing.) I know that Sakura believes differently and insisted we invite him to the wedding. But, Sakura has always been a far more forgiving person than I. It seems I'm getting off topic. Anyhow, what came up at that lunch was yet another of Tomoyo's odd ideas.

            And when it comes to her that's saying a lot.

            "You want us to do what?" I remember asking. "Isn't it a tad early for us to be writing our memoirs, Daidouji?"

            "But you and Sakura-chan have a great story to tell," Tomoyo replied. "Besides it will give you both a chance to write about capturing the cards from your own points of view."

            Sakura smiled that same slightly strained smile she gets whenever she's faced with Daidouji's camcorder-wielding, costume obsessed side. "Tomoyo-chan… I don't know… Syaoran and I aren't much for writing."

            "But, that's what will make it great!" Tomoyo replied. "It will have that rough-around-the-edges feel to it."

            "Hardly a great quality in writing, Daidouji," I said.

            "Syaoran…" Tomoyo said looking me straight in the eye. "Could you please just call me 'Tomoyo' already? You've known me for more than ten years and you still address me as 'Daidouji' .I was the maid of honor at your wedding for crying out loud."

            "Gomen. Force of habit," I replied.

            Tomoyo checked her watch. "Oop… I didn't realize how late it was. We'll talk about this over dinner tonight, okay?"

            "Wait a sec…" I began.

            "Ciao!" said Tomoyo as she got up and left.

            "What's wrong?" asked Sakura.

            "I sure hope her mother isn't going to be there," I muttered.

            "Oh?"

            "She always looks at me funny," I said. "She's almost as bad as Touya."

            Sakura gave a small giggle and hugged me gently. "Oh, come on… What reason would Sonomi-san have to dislike you?"

            "Knowing her, plenty," I muttered. "Why is it that I get the feeling that everyone thinks that when I married you I stolen a national treasure or something?"

"You don't think I'm a national treasure?" Sakura said pouting slightly.

"I don't want you to be," I replied. "Then I'd have to share you."

Sakura giggled and kissed me on the cheek. "You do have a way with words when you want to. Besides, if I recall correctly, when we got married every newspaper on Earth seemed to think I was some nobody trying to marry money."

"That was strangers," I said. "It's different when it's people you have to see in person."

 What Sakura said was true, however. Shortly after our engagement was announced, a few news rags started to speculate that Sakura was a gold-digger looking to get her hands on the Li clan fortune. These speculations seemed even truer when it was discovered that Sakura was also one of Tomoyo's and Eriol's best friends. To the media it seemed clear that Sakura was some kind of wanton social climber. While my brother-in-law and I have almost never like each other, we had been very much united in the idea of taking those newspapers back to the editors and shoving them someplace very uncomfortable. It was Fujitaka-san who talked us out of this, claiming that any such action would only make matters worse. Sadly, we had to admit that he was right and Touya and I basically went back to hating each other, much to Sakura's annoyance. 

Of course, there was no way we could have told the media about the events that brought us together in the first place, mainly because there wasn't a chance in hell of them believing it. But, on the other hand, no one in my family was thrilled with the idea of letting knowledge of the Clow cards (or more accurately the Sakura cards) escape, even if there was little chance of anyone believing it. Some of the elders still weren't thrilled about the fact that the matter had leaked as far as Daidouji-san.

            That said, however, there were a few people who didn't like that I was marrying Sakura. Touya, of course, was less than thrilled. (Yuikito-san and Fujitaka-san both tried to make me feel better by telling me Touya wouldn't want his sister to marry anybody.) Sonomi-san was another matter altogether.

            I know that Tomoyo won't appreciate me saying this, but Sonomi Dadouji is a woman who needs to get a life. Her fixation on her late cousin (who also would have been my mother in law) could be considered slightly disturbing at best. For my part, I must admit that she is not as bad as Touya although my marriage was, to her, much like Nadeshiko's marriage to Fujitaka-san.

            All of that aside, I should get back to the point at hand. Tomoyo was not one easily dissuaded from an idea as Sakura could no doubt attest to. Her plan, as she laid it out over dinner that night, was to make one big book containing primarily mine and Sakura's accounts of our live leading up to the pursuit of the Clow cards. 

            "Tomoyo-san," I said, still adapting to using her first name. "What you're suggesting makes it sound like everything exciting in our lives has already happened."

            "On the contrary, Syaoran-kun," Tomoyo replied. "But, you were part of something that may never happen again."

            "Only a small part," I said. 

            "Oh, you know that's not true," Sakura said in a slightly chiding voice.

            "I can write about the captures myself," said Tomoyo. "After all, I still have them on tape."

            "Of course you do," I said, rolling my eyes.

            "Besides, it would be interesting for all of us to know what your life was like before you met us," said Tomoyo.

            I blinked. My life before I came to Japan? "I don't know…" I began. Writing about that seemed… Well, the fact was that I can distinctly remember all the hostility I felt back then. I was not a very nice person for a large part of my life. In a way I'm still not. I know that everyone likes to think that Sakura changed me completely, but, it was more like she brought out the good in me. To this day, I still have a certain amount of hostility left bundled away and there are still times when I feel, well… I guess I'll talk more about that later.

            "You do realize that I didn't like you very much then," I said. "If I write about that honestly, it will be kind of harsh." That was an understatement, but I didn't want to make it sound too bad.

            "I understand that," said Tomoyo. "But, I think this will be something important for you and Sakura to write about. A record to be read by generations to come."

            "Assuming any of them believe it," I replied.

            But, in the end Tomoyo convinced Sakura it was a good idea and it didn't take much for Sakura to convince me. So here I am to tell you the story of my life.

            It begins, once upon a time in China…       


	2. The Fifth Child Of Yelan Li

_Once Upon A Time_

_                                                                                In __China___

A CardCaptor Sakura Fanfic By CardCaptor Schlueter (aka Syaoran-kun)

"CardCaptor Sakura" is a trademark of CLAMP and Kodansha Publishing.

Chapter One: The Fifth Child of Yelan Li

            I guess the best way to start is at the beginning. The thing of it is that I'm not entirely too sure of some of the details myself. It's been almost fourteen years since I first went to Tomoeda and my life before that isn't entirely something that I remember brilliantly. To write this I had to go back and look over some old home movies taken by my father (and some were taken by others). My mother never cared for that sort of thing. She especially didn't care for my sisters playing around with it. Mind you, when I was born, home movie cameras were a lot bigger, clumsier and had far less features than the ones that I would eventually see time after time in the hands of Tomoyo Daidouji. Granted, none of them were particularly good with the camera (my sisters sometimes seem to have invented home video motion sickness), but they could be just as annoying as Daidouji sometimes was.

            I probably shouldn't say things like that, after all, Tomoyo has been a wonderful friend.

            For, starters, I guess I should say that my mother, Yelan, and sisters really aren't as bad as I've sometimes said they were. Mind you, I've had some doubts about my sisters sometimes. 

            My eldest sister, Fuutie, was about eight when I was born. My other sisters, Sheifa, Fanren and Feimei, were all born within maybe a year of each other, That was enough for my parents for about four years. Looking back on the videotapes, my sisters wasted no time in trying to get there hooks into me. You can just hear them chattering away like little birds as my mother walks in carrying a blanket wrapped bundle, which is in fact me. Almost immediately, Fuutie began to jump and start pleading with mother to let her hold me. Even Feimei was anxious to try it and she was only five at the time. Thankfully, my mother was level headed enough not to let me fall into their hands. At least, not immediately. But, that was how the whole mess started. From the very beginning I was their "cute little baby brother", a living breathing doll for them to play with and torment as they saw fit. The one thing I can always remember very clearly about my childhood was my sisters squealing and trying to see who could hug me the hardest without actually breaking my ribs.

            I'm not actually sure when the training started, but I know it wasn't long after I learned to walk. Wei was more or less in charge of my life at that point. Whenever my mother wasn't around, Wei was in charge. For the record, Wei is actually our butler, but he's also a respected member of the Li clan, although I'm not sure I can remember how he fits in off the top of my head. 

            At first I wasn't sure how all of this training was supposed to affect me. Mother had never given me a reason or purpose for it. But, I continued all the same, hoping that someday it would all become clear to me.

            And one day, it did.

            One day when I was six I remember passing by the conference hall where the elders held there meetings. I heard my mother speaking to the elders and I stopped at the doors to listen.

            "So, we have our first lead?" my mother said.

            "Yes," said one of the elders. "The first trace is somewhere in England. Our contact was somewhat vague in his first report. However, it's been almost two years since the book left the country. Tracking it down will take some time, especially if it keeps moving around like this."

            "It would be good if we could get it back while it's still sealed," said another. "It will be easy enough to convince the international court that the Clow book is rightfully our property, but still… The prophecy that was foretold to us has given us new reason to make haste of our search."

            "Prophecies speak only of what may be," my mother replied coldly. That tone always gave me a chill. 

            "Perhaps," said the first elder. "But unless we have a candidate who can lay claim to the power of the cards, our mission will be in vain."

            Cards? I thought they were talking about a book. I listened as the elder continued. "None of your daughters have the necessary magic skills to do that yet, Yelan."

            "They will someday. But, I'm certain my son will be the one to claim the cards." There was a distinct murmuring amongst the elders when my mother said this.

            "But, Yelan, Syaoran hasn't even begun training in magic yet," one of the elders argued.

            "He will begin in a matter of weeks," my mother replied in a matter of fact tone. "He shows great natural aptitude for the art. Wei has been teaching him well."

            "But will he be ready in time?" 

            "He will," my mother replied.

            Ready for what? What was so important about this book? Whatever it was, it seemed to be very important. But, that wasn't what worried me the most. My mother was so certain I could do this, and no one else seemed to think so. Even for the head of the clan, it could be a serious problem to cross the elders. That meant only one thing, whatever mother needed me to do, I couldn't fail.

              It wasn't exactly a nice realization to come to. It was a lot of weight to suddenly feel on my shoulders. I was still trying to get a grasp on what I had overheard when the door opened.

            "Syaoran?" It was my mother. I quickly brought myself back to reality. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

            "I was looking for you," I said. "Sheifa told me you would be here."

            "Oh? What is it?"

            "I… I wanted to speak to you about my training schedule," I said. My mother's face suddenly became concerned. "I… I don't believe that my current sessions are challenging me enough. I was thinking… maybe I should be spending more time on my studies."

            My mother smiled slightly and placed her hand on my shoulders. "Well, I'll have to talk to Wei about that," she said. "In the meantime, I'd like you to call your sisters for me. I'd like to speak to them."

            "Yes, of course," I replied. She kissed me one the forehead before sending me off. I still wasn't sure if I was doing the right thing, but I didn't have any choice anymore. 

__

Next: Syaoran's first meeting with Meiling, and the search for the Clow books continues.

__

Author Notes: 

I have to confess, I'm kind of winging it on some of the details here. It took forever just to find out what the names of Syaoran's sisters were. sweatdrop. I know they made a cameo appearance in the series somewhere…


End file.
